Going green and flaunting next-gen electric cars could become a little easier, thanks to efforts by Vermont Rep. Peter Welch.
The Congressman wants to substantially increase the size of the federal tax credit for the electric cars. Furthermore, these credits wouldn’t be required to be processed at any Government facility and will be directly available at car dealerships.
The Democrat feels increasing the size of the tax credit to $10,000 would make the cars more affordable for middle-income people. Moreover, it is important to insure these credits are easily accessible for the buyers, preferably instantly, thereby encouraging more citizens to buy electric cars and curtail pollution. With the intention of making it easier to take advantage of the credits, Peter recommended that car dealerships should have the authority to process the rebates on–the–spot, reported Rutland Herald .
At present the US Government offers a maximum of $7,500 Tax Rebate on purchase of electrical vehicles or any other forms of personal transportation that make use or rechargeable batteries instead of gasoline.
Welch was joined at the Montpelier news conference by Montpelier Mayor John Hollar, Karen Glitman, the director of the Transportation Efficiency Program at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, and Dan Keene, owner of Lamoille Valley Ford and Twin State Ford, reported CSMonitor .
Glitman has an interesting theory in support of offering this enhanced incentive to buy electric cars. According to data at hand, in 2010 there were $1.1 Billion in taxable gasoline and diesel fuel sales in Vermont alone. Peter argues if that amount of travel were provided by electric cars, charged at the current cost of residential electricity, it would have saved about $800 million a year for the citizens.
This ‘gas’ money often flows out of the country because US is one of the largest importers of crude oil, which is later processed to extract gasoline and diesel that power traditional or conventional cars. There has to be a way to keep it circulating within the community, said Glitman, “We need to keep that money with Vermonters and keep it working in Vermont rather than sending it overseas for the most part.”
Vermont is certainly a very progressive region evident from the fact that the number of electric vehicles sold in Vermont tripled in the last year alone. There are over 640 plug–in electric vehicles registered in the state.
Though electric vehicles are still an expensive proposition, they have negligible impact on the pollution, for which ‘gas’ run vehicles are highly notorious. Welch confirmed he planned to introduce the legislation for the Electric Vehicle Act when he returns to Washington. It could certainly be a step in the right direction for environmentally responsible citizenship.
[Images via Bing]
